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Green light for Australian-first Uni go card
The University of the Sunshine Coast is about to trial an Australian-first scheme aimed at significantly boosting public transport use among students.
USC has joined forces with the Sunshine Coast Council and TransLink to launch an innovative “U-pass” scheme that will see thousands of students each receiving up to $70 worth of subsidised bus travel this semester.
The six-month trial is expected to cost up to $213,000, with the Council contributing $73,000 towards administration costs through its Public Transport Levy funding, TransLink providing $15,000 in equipment, and the University covering student travel subsidies.
If the trial is successful, the scheme could be ramped up to provide all University of the Sunshine Coast students with identification cards that double as TransLink go cards.
USC’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Hill said he was delighted by the partnership with Sunshine Coast Council and TransLink in developing the U-pass scheme, to be launched on Tuesday 15 February during Orientation.
“The Sunshine Coast is certainly walking the talk about sustainability and is being a national leader with this project that will promote public transport use, reduce vehicle use and congestion, boost safety, improve transit services and help the environment,” he said.
“It is a ground-breaking project in Australia in that university students haven’t previously been provided with subsidised travel through a public transport scheme of this scale.
“We hope to increase the percentage of USC students who use public transport from 17 percent to 30 percent – a weekly reduction of some 3,500 vehicle trips on our roads.”
Sunshine Coast Councillor Vivien Griffin, who holds the Integrated Transport portfolio, gave full marks to the University for the initiative.
“I am delighted that Council is partnering with the University and TransLink through investment of Public Transport Levy funding going towards such an innovative and nationally significant project,” she said.
TransLink CEO Peter Strachan said TransLink was proud of the collaborative effort to establish the U-pass scheme.
“This is a practical initiative using go card — Australia’s leading transport smart card that will make travel easier for many students studying on the Sunshine Coast,” Mr Strachan said.
“I thank the Council for its ongoing support of public transport initiatives on the Sunshine Coast.
“The Sunshine Coast is an important part of the TransLink network which is why we added 11,000 new weekly seats, as part of a $1.2 million package for new bus services in December.
“More than 4.1 million people caught buses across the Sunshine Coast on Sunbus buses last year — with more than 53,000 trips a month on buses that serviced the University.
“The campus go card terminal that was installed last December, has been moved to a more accessible location at the Student Services building where students can buy, top up, register, refund or view their transactions.”
The U-pass project follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by USC and the council’s TravelSmart Sunshine Coast program in December.
As part of this agreement, the council acknowledged the University’s sustainability efforts to date in allowing a bus transit centre to be built on campus, providing a dedicated carpooling car park and working towards improved facilities for cyclists.
— Terry Walsh